At U-19 level Junaid Khan was among of a crop of the most promising young fast bowlers in recent years, alongside Mohammad Amir. Good pace and better stamina and an ability to move the ball around if the conditions are right, Khan finally made it to national contention when he was called up for Pakistan's 2011 World Cup squad as a late replacement for Sohail Tanvir. His Test debut, against Zimbabwe in 2011, was uneventful, but in his second Test he showed his class with a five-wicket haul against Sri Lanka on a flat surface in Abu Dhabi.

Next year he was even more impressive in both Tests and ODIs, as he enhanced his reputation as an extremely skillful swing and seam bowler, who was also pacy and accurate. In three Tests in Sri Lanka, he took 14 wickets at 21.78, twice taking five-fors and achieving an outstanding strike rate of 43 balls per wicket. In the three-match ODI series in India, he troubled all the top Indian batsmen, taking eight wickets at an economy rate of 3.66.

Junaid is from the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and has built up an impressive domestic career with Abbottabad, for whom he debuted in January 2007. The record acquires greater sheen given that Abbottabad are among the weaker sides on the circuit. Those performances led him to Pakistan A selection, for whom he was impressive in two series, never more than when taking nine wickets in a 'Test' against Sri Lanka A in Hambantota in September 2010.ESPNcricinfo staff